I think people are making too much of exact dosage and looking at this more as a medicine (that needs exact dosage and properly timed administration) than as the vitamin it is. There's a lot of room for play with vitamins, depending on need, you don't overdose taking 3 1-a-day vitamins!
Keep in mind that when they were testing it on rats for human safety they were giving them massive doses with no ill effects seen, and the whole point of doing it was to watch for side effects. If they test it on ratties to make sure it's ok for me and it's ok for them under constant scientific scrutiny then it might be ok for me, eh?
Having said that, they come in different doses, so ease of measuring was most important, I just got as close (sure not exact) to the dose recommended from a trusted source on the net by cutting my 500 mg pill in 8 doses. 500 mg is what was on sale. I'd cut a 750 mg the same (how do cut it in 1/10's?). It wouldn't be detrimental to any adult rattie of any age (unless they had an abnormal personal allergy which can happen with any med or vitamin) to have twice that, it's just probably not necessary.
sausage4forever, for the reasons I stated above I can't see any reason to limit it to old kids or just kids already experiencing problems. Actually, I've always bought dog food that states 'with glucosamine & chondroitin' on the front of the bag since the HED is such a concern, mostly in boys, but the vitamin can't help but be a benefit to the girls too (if it benefits human joints it might benefit rattie joints too) . I wouldn't go thru the trouble of cutting, crushing and mixing pills to make it palatable unless if felt a kid might have a need for it tho, too much work.... I looked for a liquid form but couldn't find one, so the 'work involved/possible benefit' ratio has to mean someone needs it. But my girls have always had the dog food with it.
*Bummer sidenote* Had Touille to the vet today for a bump above his hip I've been compressing for over a month (yes, the bump was there way before I started the glucosamine). Vet says it's a tumor. It really sucks that he gets his ambulation back and now this. Upset as I am, I'm overjoyed that I was able to give him his legs back for as long as the tumor allows it.
